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You are here: Home / Blog / Colorful Character

Colorful Character

February 16, 2016 39 Comments

“You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jellybeans.”

~Ronald Reagan

I eat the red jellybeans first. After all the red jellybeans have been greedily devoured, even if small children must be shoved aside or tricked to secure them all, I then seek the red-derived jellybeans, the pinks, and the purples. Once the bounty of red, pink, and purple jellybeans has been exhausted, I lose interest rapidly. I might revisit the bowl periodically, in passing, to poke around and see if any new jellybeans of my preferred colors have spawned overnight. I might even eat an orange one, but I always regret the decision afterward. I feel that I’ve settled for less than what I wanted, less than I’d deserved, and the bitter aftertaste of self-loathing lingers.

I never, and I do mean never, eat the white or the black jellybeans. I suspect they were invented as a practical joke to make children, and adults who have forgotten how bad they taste, make funny faces. The green jellybean exists for the sole purpose of being shot out of one’s nostrils. Both nostrils at once earns extra points. Of course, accuracy is important as well. There’s art in precision. Green jellybeans should not be eaten before, or after, nostril-shooting. I’ve no idea why the other colors exist. Perhaps the were developed just so that the children will try some, deciding they don’t like jellybeans, and then leave the bowl alone so that distinguishing adults like myself can eat the red ones without any further interference, discussion, or pesky pleas to share.

I’m not sure what all this says about my character, or why Ronald Reagan thought jellybean eating methodology had any bearing on anything at all. Jellybeans, as good or as bad as they might be, are no metaphor for life. Though life may be both sweet and sticky at times, or eventually it seems, lethal, that does not equate to wad of hastily swallowed jellybeans lodged in one’s throat whilst two green jellybeans clog the nostrils. Life will kill us with or without jellybean asphyxiation.

Does it then speak to our gluttony? Our generosity? Scram, kid. The red ones are mine. Does it speak to our discerning taste? Our ability to write lengthy prose about jellybeans?

Maybe Reagan was already going over the deep end when he fired this arrow of wit into the crowd.

Maybe Reagan mixed the white and black jellybeans and was suffering green-smoke-filled hallucinations as a result of ingesting the noxious concoction.

Maybe there’s still a red one left. I’m going to go check.

 


 

I blame Lauren for this post. I was just sitting here watching Adele sing love songs to me on the TV but Lauren INSISTED that I post this instead.

39 Comments

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Comments

  1. busymindthinking says

    February 16, 2016 at 4:02 am

    Bahaha, good for Lauren!

    Reply
    • Eric says

      February 16, 2016 at 4:22 am

      Lol. I’m beginning to think Adele was singing to someone else anyway.. 🙂

      Reply
      • busymindthinking says

        February 16, 2016 at 4:25 am

        Perhaps had you offered her a jellybean…of a certain color, she may have stopped momentarily. LOL

        Reply
        • Eric says

          February 16, 2016 at 4:30 am

          Most likely.. I’ve a tendency to guess wrong. Lol. 🙂

          Reply
          • Lauren Simon says

            February 16, 2016 at 4:35 am

            You never know. You should ask her. 🙂

            Reply
  2. writeupmyalleyblog says

    February 16, 2016 at 4:18 am

    Im not sure what it implies other than you might be a bit crazy, not for the way you eat or which ones in whichever order. Only because you leave the BLACK ONES!!!! They are the bomb, the best. Toss them my way please.

    Reply
    • Eric says

      February 16, 2016 at 4:23 am

      Oh my goodness.. I worry for your safety.. The black ones make people make yoda faces.

      Reply
      • writeupmyalleyblog says

        February 16, 2016 at 4:26 am

        A yoda face might be an improvement…. Lol. I actually haven’t had a jellybean in years. Now you got me craving them.

        Reply
        • Eric says

          February 16, 2016 at 4:32 am

          Easter is coming.. You can load up. If I see a lady at the store with a cart filled with only black jelly beans, I’ll know it’s you 🙂

          Reply
          • writeupmyalleyblog says

            February 16, 2016 at 4:36 am

            If she has a yoda face. Yes. Though if you are playing Easter Bunny, I might want to sit on your lap;)

            Reply
            • Eric says

              February 16, 2016 at 4:40 am

              You’re funny 🙂 believe it or not, and I probably shouldn’t admit this, I had to dress as the Easter Bunny for a job I had at a restaurant when I was younger. Ack.

              Reply
              • writeupmyalleyblog says

                February 16, 2016 at 4:45 am

                Oh really? I wasn’t trying to be funny;) you know I want to. Sexy bunny.

                Reply
                • Eric says

                  February 16, 2016 at 4:50 am

                  Nope. I’m decidedly un-sexy, the antithesis of sexiness, though I do have large teeth and big ears. Lol

                  Reply
  3. Lauren Simon says

    February 16, 2016 at 4:18 am

    Yeah, screw Adele and love songs… this is way more awesome. 🙂

    Reply
    • Lauren Simon says

      February 16, 2016 at 4:20 am

      I eat all the red ones first, too. BLUE ONES! Those are good….. Um… I guess purple ones next. The rest can get thrown away.

      Reply
      • Eric says

        February 16, 2016 at 4:27 am

        There are blue ones? I’ll have to look for those..

        Reply
        • Lauren Simon says

          February 16, 2016 at 4:30 am

          Jelly belly, dude…. Are you kidding me?! You eat jelly belly and you don’t have to worry about jelly beans ever being awful — ever again.
          Even when “awful” they are definitely interesting.
          Come to the dark side: http://www.jellybelly.com/

          Reply
          • Eric says

            February 16, 2016 at 4:34 am

            There really are blue ones! Hmmm. This requires some more research and testing.. Thank you. I’d no idea.

            Reply
    • Eric says

      February 16, 2016 at 4:26 am

      Lol. Thanks. Glad you liked this 😉 It was part of a writing challenge on Instagram a while back. I don’t recall what I was supposed to write about, but I doubt it was this.

      Reply
      • Lauren Simon says

        February 16, 2016 at 4:38 am

        Seems despite the botched assignment it all worked out in your flavor! Haha. I crack myself up!

        Reply
        • Eric says

          February 16, 2016 at 4:41 am

          Lol. Yes. You crack me up too 🙂

          Reply
          • Lauren Simon says

            February 16, 2016 at 4:43 am

            Likewise! 🙂

            Reply
  4. Lisa R. Palmer says

    February 16, 2016 at 4:22 am

    Thank you, Lauren!! This was awesome…

    Of course now we have the deceptive and corrupt trick jelly beans (we sell them at my store), where the colors can be either good (defined cherry, lemon, etc), or bad (defined boogers, ear wax, or monkey turds, etc), and there’s no way to tell them apart until you eat them…

    Life is cruel… sigh…

    Reply
    • Eric says

      February 16, 2016 at 4:29 am

      Lol. I’m never disappointed with the new knowledge I gain here. Ear wax jelly beans still have me giggling. I’d no idea

      Reply
  5. joliesattic says

    February 16, 2016 at 6:01 am

    White and blacks are my favs! Sooo good. After that are yellows and reds. No browns or greens. Blues are good too.

    Reply
    • Eric says

      February 19, 2016 at 2:52 am

      I’m going to have to hunt down these fabled blue jelly beans 🙂

      Reply
  6. pixieannie says

    February 16, 2016 at 6:55 am

    I don’t like jelly beans or custard creams.

    Reply
    • Eric says

      February 19, 2016 at 2:48 am

      They rhyme nicely tho, nice rhythm too.

      Reply
    • joliesattic says

      February 19, 2016 at 11:18 pm

      Creams are not my favs either. My poor hubby bought me See’s cream filled chocolates. He knew I liked See’s because I always talked about them in Colorado and Alabama, but we didn’t have See’s Candies in either of those places, so he thought he was doing well. I didn’t have the heart to tell him. I did ask, “are any of them nuts or chews?” He says, “No” and I respond “oh… okay” Do you think that was enough of a hint?

      Reply
      • Eric says

        February 19, 2016 at 11:39 pm

        While generally unfair to generalize, generally– men don’t notice hints quite as quickly as we’re expected to.. besides, our minds are filled with important data like ball scores, engine displacements, multi-core processors, and pizza. Tho once in a while, something else gets through. There’s still hope 🙂

        Reply
      • pixieannie says

        February 20, 2016 at 6:55 am

        Too funny. You need to spell it out for them.

        Reply
  7. allthoughtswork says

    February 16, 2016 at 7:16 am

    It’s been said that licorice is the liver of candy. Well, jellybeans are the earwax.

    Reply
  8. angelicdarkness70 says

    February 16, 2016 at 1:12 pm

    Good humor in this one..I’ve read it all..a actual blog post about Jellybeans LOL!….I myself like the red one too, pink, white..those are
    my favorites…;)

    Reply
    • Eric says

      February 19, 2016 at 2:56 am

      I had no idea so many people liked white jellybeans. I’ll mail mine to you 🙂

      Reply
      • angelicdarkness70 says

        February 19, 2016 at 12:23 pm

        LOL….;)

        Reply
  9. am0ngthewildfl0wers says

    February 20, 2016 at 4:44 am

    Red are CLEARLY superior.

    Reply
    • Eric says

      February 20, 2016 at 4:51 am

      Well, yes 😉

      Reply
  10. lifeinameadow says

    February 21, 2016 at 4:15 am

    All the black ones can be shipped here! I adore them. No Yoda grimaces seen on this face.

    This was hilarious, my friend! I loved the whole thing, including the comments.

    Thanks, Lauren!

    Reply
    • Eric says

      February 21, 2016 at 1:16 pm

      ha! okay – You can have the black ones 🙂 glad you liked this

      Reply

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